JSOnline
By Bruce Vielmetti
September 26, 2011
Three Milwaukee cab drivers, backed by a public interest law firm, say Milwaukee's limit on the number of taxicabs allowed in the city is arbitrary, anti-competitive and unconstitutional.
In a lawsuit expected to be filed Tuesday, they claim the 321 taxicab permits, capped in 1992, have consequently risen in value to nearly $150,000 on the secondary market, in effect pricing many would-be taxi entrepreneurs out of the market.
The Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter, which represents the drivers, claims the numbers work out to one taxicab per 1,850 city residents, far fewer than many comparable cities. It cites ratios of one cab per 935 residents in Seattle, one per 550 in Minneapolis and one per 480 residents in Denver, where the institute successfully challenged limits on taxicab fleet size.
"Milwaukee's taxi permit cap presents a classic case of regulatory capture," the institute says in a news release. "The benefits of the system are concentrated in a few permit holders while the costs are diffused among consumers, drivers and would-be owners."
One of the biggest permit holders is Michael Sanfelippo, who controls 162 permits. He says that when Milwaukee had more permits, no one could make a decent living and the quality of cabs and service suffered.
"This is not a cab town," he said. Sanfelippo, who also operates American United, a dispatching service for cabs, scoffed at the notion that the permits would command $150,000.
"I think the last couple I bought were maybe $80,000," he said.
The lawsuit, which the institute intends to file in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, asks that a judge block the city from denying new taxicab permits, and award nominal damages of $1, plus the plaintiffs' attorney fees.
"In addition to the harm plaintiffs suffer, the artificial scarcity of cabs harms Milwaukee citizens and visitors through limiting competition in the taxicab industry and creating inferior customer service - including longer wait times for cabs and a lack of available cabs in modest and minority neighborhoods," the lawsuit asserts. Continue Reading
The Hoya
By Laura Zhang
September 27, 2011
Two D.C. taxi driver associations accused city officials of instituting unfair regulatory policies in a lawsuit filed last Tuesday.
In their complaint, the D.C. Professional Taxicab Drivers Association and the Dominion of Cab Drivers said that Mayor Vincent Gray's policies have caused arbitrary taxi rates, misrepresentation for drivers on the commission and unreasonable working hours.
They also alleged that Gray and D.C. Taxi Commission Chair Ron Linton denied their representatives a seat on the commission.
"The Mayor has refused to allow the commission to function, usurping its authority to set rates properly and instead setting them at levels that are completely arbitrary, contrary to law and deeply harmful to the men and women who operate taxicabs," the official complaint stated.
The mayor's office has expressed their disappointment with the lawsuit.
"The lawsuit … is disappointing and misguided. It ignores the commitment my administration has made to address the reasonable concerns of the taxicab industry while ensuring residents and visitors to our city get the first-class service they deserve," Gray said in press release last Friday.
The release also cited actions taken by the Gray administration to improve conditions for taxi drivers, including the institution of a fuel surcharge to help with higher gas prices.
Nathan Price, chairman and spokesperson of the DCPTDA, said that a legal battle with the D.C. government was inevitable, however.
"After several failed attempts to meet with the mayor in the last nine months, there was no other option but to file a lawsuit to remedy their economic hardship," Price said in an interview with The Hoya.
The taxi drivers' unions conflict with the D.C. government traces back to January 2006, when the unions were refused a pay increase. Continue Reading
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